E-Paper
Sessions the senior-most Trump official interviewed in Russia probe
Sessions was interviewed last week for several hours by members of the investigative team led by special counsel Robert Mueller.
US attorney general Jeff Sessions has become the senior-most serving member of the Trump administration interviewed by investigators probing Russia interference in the 2016 election and alleged collusion by the president’s campaign team or members thereof.
Sessions was interviewed last week for several hours by members of the investigative team led by special counsel Robert Mueller. This is the first known instance of a member of the Trump cabinet being interviewed by the team.
After initially claiming during his confirmation hearing that he did not any contacts with Russians, he later acknowledged two contacts with erstwhile Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. He has since recused himself from the probe.
Sessions was also party to the firing of FBI director James Comey, who had claimed to be under pressure from Trump to go easy on former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was sacked for lying about his Russia contacts.
Flynn has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about those contacts and is cooperating with investigators under a plea agreement, as is George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign aide. Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, two other members of the campaign, have been arrested and face trial.
